You know, I've never written a review quite like this one but after today, I knew I had to. Over the summer, I adopted a kitten that a friend of mine had fostered through a rescue organization in ano... Read More
You know, I've never written a review quite like this one but after today, I knew I had to. Over the summer, I adopted a kitten that a friend of mine had fostered through a rescue organization in another state. I eventually learned the hard way that the rescue organization wasn't on the up and up when I got ringworm from my adorable little kitten right before I needed to leave town. The result was that I could no longer leave her in friends' care and would now have to board both her and my other cat for two weeks--a ridiculously expensive situation. On top of everything, someone from Murphy Rd Animal Hospital had left me cheery test results on my voicemail which led me to believe that the cat didn't have ringworm, so that I didn't treat it from the beginning and allowed it to spread to myself, two friends, and my other cat. But of course when I called to find out how much it would cost to board the cats, it was going to be about $400. I started doing a lot of research, as I'm a grad student and was in a very underpaid summer job and really couldn't afford this expense. Hell, I couldn't even afford groceries at the time. Eventually someone recommended another vet to me, but they were too expensive too, and they suggested PetMed. When they told me the grand total for boarding my cats for 12 days, including administering medicine to them, it was so much less than what my vet was going to charge. I had already decided that I was going to try to get my vet to charge me for just one cat, or something like that, since the cats wouldn't need boarding at all if it weren't for a negligent voicemail. Fortunately, the vet ended up agreeing with me, and I went ahead and stuck with them for boarding since I live in Nashville. (The truth is though, the vet somehow ended up charging me more than I'd expected and I probably would have been better off at PetMed.)Well, on the nonstop-fun roller-coaster ride that is life with a kitten from a shady rescue organization, the kitten that I was told was spayed just went into heat yesterday. I already know that it will be expensive to spay her at Murphy Rd. So I called Hillsboro, because I have friends who take their pets there and have nothing but good things to say about them (would that I'd known): $188. Yikes! So I scrolled through my phone contacts and called PetMed to see what PetMed would charge after reading the terrible reviews of ValueVet. Not only was PetMed cheaper: $122 despite the fact that I've never been in, so no additional new-patient charge or office-visit charge, *but* the woman on the phone also directed me to the friendsofanimals.org website so that I could get a low-cost spay certificate ($65) to save even more. People, on the basis of customer service alone, this is so far beyond what I'm used to, especially after all my bad dealings with Murphy Rd. I have not been in to PetMed yet, but let me tell you, the fact that they would go out of their way to accommodate sick kitties and poor cat owners and are so patient to answer my litany of questions on the phone makes me absolutely willing to drive to Antioch from Nashville for their service.UPDATE (2/4/12): I went in almost two weeks ago to get my kitten spayed and the staff was just as great in person as they were on the phone. I was really impressed with the facility, the staff at the front, the ease making the appointment, and with the doctor I saw. They called to let me know she was doing OK after the procedure, were really helpful explaining everything I needed to do at home once I picked her up after the surgery, and were just really great all around. I will not bother with anyone else in Nashville. They have proven themselves completely trustworthy of my animals. Read Less